A round of golf with teammates at the Skaneateles Country Club suited him well.

"We had a great time. I played awful,'' he said. "It was a beautiful day yesterday, just be able to relax, take it all in, enjoy the day. Sometimes it's good to take a day off from the game, re-charge the batteries.''

Barrett is well-versed in the importance of relaxation and patience. Both have helped to define and save his career several times in the last few years.

During that stretch he's been drafted by four teams, failed to sign with three of them, lost the ability to throw a baseball anywhere near his target and been sent down from Washington after he was stopped dead in his developmental tracks by a forced mechanical change.

Barrett's retort to all of those challenges?

A shrug and a light grin. And no earned runs in five innings pitched with the Chiefs this year.

"I can be anywhere. I'm very relaxed,'' he said. "I could be in Triple-A right now and be extremely bitter about being here. My personality is I'm going to make the most of every day. I just don't take anything for granted.''

That because Barrett, a native of Evansville, Ind., has seen the dream of a pro career swirl around him with the elusiveness of a hot dog wrapper in a windstorm.

He was selected by the Dodgers in the 44th round of the 2006 draft out of high school but didn't sign because Los Angeles didn't make him an offer; went to Minnesota in the 20th round out of junior college in Illinois but turned down a $200,000 signing bonus because he wanted to follow through on his commitment to the University of Mississippi; and was drafted by Texas in the 27th round of the 2009 draft but didn't go with that team because he was coming off a bad season and the Rangers didn't offer him a bonus.

"It definitely entered my mind. There was definitely second thoughts for me,'' Barrett said of refusing Minnesota's rich offer.

Finally, after his senior season at Ole Miss, the Nationals took him in the ninth round of the 2010 draft. Even though he had no negotiating leverage, the Nationals tossed him $35,000 as a signing bonus.

But Barrett didn't focus on what he lost financially. Instead, he points to what he gained. He met his wife, Kendyl, during his senior year at Mississippi. He made progress in his eventual degree in liberal arts. And, ultimately, he became a better pitcher.

"What I realized, too, is at the end of the day, it's not about the signing bonus. The real money is in the big leagues,'' he said. "You make it to the big leagues, you deserve that money. It made me work that much harder to get to the ultimate (goal).''

Barrett jumped into low Class A ball with and landed with a thud. During that season he developed a mental block that turned him into a wild man on the mound and dropped the strike zone off his radar. In 21 innings, he walked 22 batters and threw nine wild pitches.

"I lost it,'' Barrett summarizes. "I believe it starts as a mechanical issue. Next thing you know it starts to snowball. Then it turns into a mental issue. You grow up, your whole life, throwing a baseball. Then you lose the feel.''

The Nationals thought a change in role might help. He was switched from starter to reliever with Auburn in 2011, with only marginal improvement in the problem. In 26 2/3 frames he walked 20 hitters.

But just as insipidly as the problem began, it started to vanish. Barrett said his religious beliefs helped him develop a patience that calmed his mind, and, ultimately, his approach.

"I said, (the heck with) it. Whatever happens, happens,'' he said. "I tried to control the game. I realized I didn't have control over what happens to me. Baseball isn't everything. The adversity I went through has made me a better person, work harder. It's taught me patience as well.''

Barrett rebounded in 2012 with just 11 walks in 34.2 innings pitched and a 2.60 ERA in Hagerstown and three walks in 17 innings with a 1.06 ERA in Potomac. Last season, he piled up 26 saves with a 2.15 ERA and 15 walks and 69 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings in Double A Harrisburg.

That carried over to 2014, when he started the season with the Nationals, came down to the Chiefs for a brief 2 1/3 innings of scoreless and then jumped back up for what looked like a long residence in Washington. In his first 30 major league appearances through June 27, Barrett carried a 1.67 ERA in 27 innings, allowed 20 hits and 14 walks while striking out 33.

But in late June, umpire Joe West called Barrett for a balk on the same windup technique he had been using for several years. The issue was apparently a down-up-down motion as he came to his set position, a sequence that constitutes a violation. The change &mdash which Barrett compared to a hitter being told he couldn't pick up his lead leg before swinging — threw him into a mini-tailspin that forced Washington to ship him to Syracuse to tinker with an adjustment.

"When you are used to doing something for quite a bit of time, and then when someone tells you it's illegal, even though you have done it all your pitching career, it's a difficult change to rush,'' said Syracuse pitching coach Paul Menhart. "It just disturbs you as a pitcher. The move to come down here and get comfortable with it in games is genius, in my opinion.''

Barrett has smoothed out the delivery, remaking it into a more continuous up-down prelude to his windup. In three appearances since his return, he's thrown a hitless 2 2/3 innings and continued to work his slider into a big-time out pitch.

"At first it was an adjustment. It's obviously a routine,'' Barrett said. "It's a rhythm thing for me. I'm not making excuses. I'm not going to say that affected my pitching. I should be able to get guys out.''

The craft is typically more complex than that, although after all he's worked through Barrett prefers to reduce it to basics as often as possible.

"I have the ball. I'm in control of the game. I'm going to come right after you with it,'' he said. "It is simple. I have fun at it whether I give up a run or give up a hit or strike somebody out. I enjoy coming out here and feel the baseball in my hand.''